Any Comments Appreciated

[KIMC]

I'm 25 years old and have been out of college and working for three years in my profession (dental). It occured to me not long before I graduated that I disliked my choosen career. Due to the fact that I was so close to graduating and had spent so much money and got my self into so much debt I just decided to continue and get the degree. I now work in my field (because I have to work) and attend night school to try and complete the BS degree. The degree is very limiting. My job is repetative, physically stressful and at times mentally exhausting and I know I can't do this for the rest of my life. I was thinking about attending grad school after I finish the BS degree and totally changing direction to do something else (what I'm not sure). Is attending grad school the answer? This is only a portion of my QLC. I'm very indecisive about everything. (probally because of my failure to pick the right career in the first place.) Plus being the only one out of my family to go to college and graduate, my family has an inability to truely understand what I'm going through. This dissatisfaction with my career, personal relationship and the general direction of my life has plunged me into somewhat of a depression. I think all areas of the QLC they mentioned in the book ( friends, family, relationships, career) occured to me and still are. Any comments would be appreciated.

[Anonymous]

before you consider going back to graduate school, figure out what you would like to study. then make sure that a grad degree is really neccessary to be a success in the field and/or get your foot in the door. i'm sure the last thing you want to do is accumulate unneccessary debt. as trite as it sounds, i'd advice figuring out what field you want to go into. this may involve taking some career assessment tests, doing some soul-searching,etc. whatever you do, follow your heart and don't get caught up in the opinions and expectations of others. you might ask yourself what you would do with your life if money wasn't an object. perhaps, this will work for you. don't give up home and congratulations for being the first in your family to do the college thing.

good luck and i hope i've been helpful.

[elizabethlaine]

why don't you spend some time traveling? You'll learn alot about yourself, your strengths, and what you need to survive when you get back to the real world. Don't go to grad school just to end up unhappy (and in debt) once again.

[Dorian]

I'm so much better at giving advice than I am at taking it....I'm almost in the same boat you are. However, if I weren't me I would advise that you think about what really interests you (for me its the medical field or working with animals) and then do some research into what kinds of careers your interests are suited to. Maybe you love to paint or maybe you love watching those mystery cop shows on TV, but whatever it is - research it and base a plan on that. Here's my example, I think I would love to be a Registered Nurse, BUT just in case I am going to take classes to be a nurse's assistant first THEN if I like that and still want to be in the nursing field - I will take the next step. Maybe you could try something like that - take baby steps towards a career before diving in head first. Maybe you will have a lot of different baby steps to take - but eventually you will find what is right for you. If only I could practice what I preach /phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif Good Luck!!

[jeninmass]

I think the baby steps idea is a good one. It's important to be aware that grad school is NOT (at least in my experience) a way to put off the "real world." It is a good deal more different from undergrad than you expect, especially if you're starting over in a new place. I just finished my first year of grad school, and the transition was (and is) more difficult than I ever expected. Sometimes the only thing that keeps me here is knowing that this is the only thing I can imagine myself doing. I guarantee you that if I didn't have a REALLY good reason for getting this degree, I would be that much more miserable.

I realize that it's difficult (and probably seems even impossible) to figure out "what you want to be when you grow up," but I do think that diving into something with a huge monetary and time commitment won't help if you don't really think you want it. I'd recommend exploring whenever you get the chance--travel, read, talk to EVERYONE. There are jobs out there that you don't even know exist!!

Hang in there!